Fresh off a Champions League victory with Porto in a season in which he was named the best midfielder of the tournament, Deco joined Barcelona in the summer of 2004. After all, all the other players won everything as well but it was only Etoo who was deemed a surplus. 'Paris-Ibra' and Paris without Ibra. He went on to say that he was not here to change anyones personality or character implying that Etoo was too disruptive and rebellious. Recently, two big football clubs, Barcelona and Juventus, agreed a player swap deal that left many scratching their heads and many fans of the Spanish giants particularly flabbergasted and enraged. READ: What happened to Francesco Coco, once Clarence Seedorfs equal? At the time of preseason Etoo was relegated to the bench and the Barcelona board were busy attempting to sell him to the highest bidder. After two successful seasons for the Nerazzurri, the striker moved to Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala. Sold: Inter sell Zlatan Ibrahimovic to Barcelona for 57m. Inter may have got the better deal when swapping Ibrahimovic for Etoo, but they havent always been that savvy. Inter can get it right sometimes, and even before making Barcelona look silly and signing Etoo, they were already the champions of the 2009 transfer window. In a later interview he states that if a manager buys a player worth $70 million then he should choose the game after him. The player snapped back at Guardiola, insisting he was doing the exercises properly, but the coach was having none of it and sent Etoo to the showers early. However, the reasons behind the transfers of Samuel Etoo and later Zlatan Ibrahimovic remained somewhat mysterious. Fans were shocked when Newcastle United agreed to sell star striker Andy Cole to Premier League rivals Manchester United in 1995 for 7million. When his swap deal with Manchester United was announced, with Mkhitaryan going the other way, everyone thought the Old Trafford club had pulled off a stunner. Chelsea were believed to be leading the race for his signature as Jose Mourinho attempted to bring him from Porto to Stamford Bridge, but the Blaugrana eventually signed him. Download All Football App to enjoy the best football experience. Barcelona's president, Joan Laporta, has made clear the deal had not yet been completed and the club were still considering other options, including the purchase of Valencia striker David Villa. Zamoras goals, including the winner in the Championship play-off final, guided the Hammers straight back into the Premier League, while Defoe hit the back of the net 64 times in 177 appearances for Spurs between 2004 and 2008.
There were actually two teams. Alexis Sanchez and Manchester United had a simple mutual goal - to win trophies. Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. That led to Cannavaro leaving the Turin football club to join Real Madrid. As it turned out, Chelsea emerged the clear beneficiaries of this swap deal. In previous years they'd have been flying at the top of the league. http://www.mundodeportivo.com/futbol/fc-barcelona/20161204/412401247553/etoo-mourinho-guardiola.html. Zlatan Ibrahimovic also had an incredible 2008/09 season with Inter Milan. Sanchez was particularly prolific for Arsenal, scoring 80 goals and providing 45 assists across 166 matches in all competitions. By 2009, Ibrahimovic and Etoo were two of the best strikers in the world and playing for two European giants in Inter Milan and Barcelona. Remember Fabian Carini? FC Barcelonas President at the time, Joan Laporta, reveals that: When the club won the Treble in 2009, the technical staff wanted a few locker room modifications to help the team ethic, Laporta told AsThis is how we came to swap Etoo and Ibrahimovic, a move that at the time was wanted by Pep GuardiolaAside from the Swede, the other two options were Diego Forlan and David Villa. On this day in 1995, Man Utd snaffled Andy Cole from Newcastle for 7million big ones + Keith Gillespie. We've left this one out as it remains to be seen just how successful it will prove to be. The Brazilian would go on to spend 11 years at Santiago Bernabeu, making 584 appearances. "The Ibrahimovic deal is not done and dusted and it would be too early to say which of the two options is the most satisfactory," Laporta said.
However, unlike Bojan who filled the role while Ibrahimovic was injured, the Swede footballer did not make the necessary movements to create space for Messi which inevitably lead both to clash in the same areas. Despite Etoo scoring shortly after and celebrating by shouting I told you so towards Guardiola, the Barcelona manager was unconvinced. I yelled: You havent got any b***s! and worse than that I added: You can go to hell! I completely lost it, and you might have expected Guardiola to say a few words in response, but hes a spineless coward. Yikes. When a transfer fee couldn't be agreed upon, Chelsea threw William Gallas into the mix and that proved enough to seal the deal. In other words, Ibrahimovic expected Guardiola to modify the system to fit the player. The fee involved was not specified, although Spanish media have reported it will be in the region of 40m. Inter thought they were getting a good deal as Zamorano had been a prolific striker in Spain and while he did well in Italy, he is perhaps best remembered for wearing 1+8 on his shirt. The Serbia midfielder managed just a handful of appearances for the Blues after arriving at the club in his early 20s, but Benfica saw enough to have him included in a deal that saw centre-back David Luiz move to Stamford Bridge for 25m. The Frenchman became notorious for his numerous squabbles with teammates and for the infamous instance when he kicked the advertising hoarding and sat down sulking near the semi-circle after giving away a penalty. ON THIS DAY: In 2009, Jermain Defoe became just the third player in Premier League history to score 5 goals in a single game. The Spanish club had just won the treble with Etoo scoring in the Champions League final, but Pep Guardiola still wasnt content and gave Inter 35million plus Etoo to land Ibrahimovic. Andy Cole may not be remembered as one of the greatest members of Manchester Uniteds treble winning side, but the forwards prolific scoring certainly helped Sir Alex Fergusons side immensely over the course of his six-year stay with the club. Two years after the loan deal was concluded, he was the star of the Italy team that won the 2006 World Cup, paving the way for a move to Real Madrid, albeit in inglorious circumstances due to the Calciopoli scandal. Ibrakadabra, like many of his fans call him, expected to fill the void of Etoo as the striker and initially he did just that. The Sameul Eto'o - Zlatan Ibrahimovic deal was an example of a swap deal that went right and perhaps even exceeded expectations for Inter Milan.
William Gallas was desperate to leave Chelsea and reportedly threatened to score own goals if that could force a move out. It started well but then Messi started to talk, revealed Ibrahimovic in his autobiography. Pep Guardiola is a non-confrontational individual and it may be true that he prefers to discuss player problems through intermediaries or avoid addressing the issues altogether but it should be noted that there is not much more he could have done to persuade the player. However, even at Inter, he featured in just four games in three years before shipped off to Spanish minnows Real Murcia. This exchange would be extremely costly for FC Barcelona and the Swede superstar would only last one season wearing Blaugrana colours, raising questions over the transfer. @media (max-width:767px){.css-4n1las{display:none;}}Chosen for You@media (min-width:768px){.css-1s8mc50{display:none;}}Chosen for You, Anthony Martial To Start Upfront For Manchester United Ahead Of Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney Makes Former Man United Teammate His First Signing As DC United Manager, Jack Grealish Shares Behind-The-Scenes Footage Of Erling Haaland's Welcome To Man City, Darwin Nunez's Liverpool Career Bursts Into Life With FOUR Goals Against RB Leipzig, Jesse Lingard Joins Nottingham Forest On One-Year Deal After Leaving Manchester United, More Bets Placed On Manchester United To Win The Premier League Than Anyone Else, Alexandre Lacazette Set To Miss Pre-Season Friendly After Being 'Attacked By Wasps', Former Arsenal Striker Makes Claim About 'Brilliant' Liverpool Player, Liverpool Legend Sends Blunt Erling Haaland Message And Makes Man City Claim, 'It's Just Unfortunate' - Former Red Makes Major Man City And Liverpool Claim, Gareth Southgate Makes 'Whispering' Claim About Liverpool Captain Jordan Henderson. In return they were getting Francesco Coco, a promising full-back who was tipped to be Paolo Maldinis heir. [1] http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2588495/Peps-coward-hardly-spoke-Barcelona-Samuel-Etoo-lifts-lid-feud-Pep-Guardiola.html, [2] http://www.goal.com/en-us/news/88/spain/2009/07/14/1381903/guardiola-tells-david-villa-barcelona-will-wait, [3] http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2588495/Peps-coward-hardly-spoke-Barcelona-Samuel-Etoo-lifts-lid-feud-Pep-Guardiola.html, [4] http://www.tribalfootball.com/articles/barcelona-coach-guardiola-clashed-etoo-223548, [5] http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2588495/Peps-coward-hardly-spoke-Barcelona-Samuel-Etoo-lifts-lid-feud-Pep-Guardiola.html, [6] http://www.tribalfootball.com/articles/laporta-eto-o-forced-barcelona-buy-ibrahimovic-1483441, [7] Translated.
Etoo transformed Inter, helped them beat Barca in the Champions League semi-final, and then led the Italians to a treble of their own in 2010. This proved to be the reason the Ivory Coast midfielder left the club, plus the agent got a better contract with Manchester City. The deal paid off for Inter as they won the treble that season with Motta and Milito playing an integral part of their success. The reason why Guardiola developed such bad relationships with both Samuel Etoo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic is largely due to one single factor: both players were not obedient enough and did not adapt to the ideas of the coach. They bloody love a swap deal and in 1996 they agreed to give Real Madrid 1million and young full-back Roberto Carlos for striker Ivan Zamorano.
Possibly the most famous swap deal of all time took place in 2009 when Barcelona paid 46m plus prolific striker Samuel Eto'o for Inter superstar Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The deal involving Francesco Coco and Clarence Seedorf made little sense, though.
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[2] Etoo explains how FC Barcelona even tried to sell him to an obscure club in Uzbekistan which was willing to buy the Cameroon striker at the amount asked by the club.
Legendary striker Eusebio scored four goals as Portugal came back from three goals down to eliminate North Korea from the World Cup exactly 55 years ago. Meanwhile he praised Guardiola for being someone who always wants his teams to play and will succeed in England.[7]. The following games Etoo was relegated to the wing with Messi to the centre. Then something happened; Messi supposedly texted Guardiola while on the bus to a game saying: It seems I am no longer wanted here at Barca, so The message was clear and Messi started playing in the centre. In a press conference Guardiola explained his reasoning: he argued that it was the best for the team if Etoo left, that there was no footballing reason and it was merely due to a feeling. However, Chelsea turned out to be the real winners as Cole established himself as one of the best left-backs in the world, winning the Premier League and Champions League at Stamford Bridge. However, the biggest problem for Inter was that Carlos became one of the best left-backs in the world, winning La Liga four times and three Champions Leagues. The Chilean football player was one of the top players in the Premier League at the time. Eto'o himself claimed that Inter striked the best deal in football history and Pep Guardiola was the main reason that the deal went through. However despite all of that the man who once replaced him at Inter Milan, Samuel Eto'o, believes that Zlatan's former club are better off without him. 3 min read Both players went on to enjoy significant careers at Stamford Bridge. Nemanja Matics first spell at Chelsea was easily forgotten. This deal became famous as Eto'o became an integral part of the Inter side that went on to win the treble that season. Although Cannavaro had faced injury issues, he was still a top defender. Seedorf won another two Champions League and Serie A titles with Milan, but Coco struggled with injuries and retired at 30 to work as an actor in Hollywood. We bet Inter are regretting that one. pic.twitter.com/FZf1aIwAsD. While Eto'o went on to win the treble with Inter, though, Ibrahimovic had a tough time at Camp Nou after falling out with Guardiola, and left for Milan after just one season. The likes of Gerard Pique, Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Ivan Rakitic, Arturo Vidal and Sergio Busquests are all over the age of 30. This was another football transfer deal carried out by Inter Milan that left football fans across the world questioning the logic behind the move. It wasn't just that he was joining Arsenal's city rivals, but that he was apparently doing so for money, which earned him the nickname 'Cashley'.
It seems he left because Barca was in serious debt and any unused players were a liability and Guardiola even stated he would like to his return one day. Many Barcelona fans are disgruntled with the manager and have asked for his resignation. When Pep Guardiola took charge of Barcelona in 2008 he made it clear that senior players Ronaldinho, Deco, Eto'o and Zambrotta were not a part of his plans. It was well known Etoo had a huge ego and at the end of the treble winning campaign he and his agent refused to renew the contract unless a huge increase in salary occurred. In the end the emergence of Messi as the preferred player in the no.9 position or just behind proved the outdoing of both Etoo and Ibrahimovic. Theres no pressure. The trio of Lionel Messi (38 goals), Eto'o (36 goals) and Thierry Henry (26 goals) scored exactly 100 goals between them in the club's historic treble year. [8] Hunter, Graham Barca: The Making of the Greatest Team in the World, p. 88. Alexis Sanchez was one of Arsenal Football club's best ever acquisitions while Mkhitaryan was delivering some fine performances for Manchester United. Guardiola even disrespected Etoo by announcing to his players in the first pre-season game that his shirt number would be given to Thierry Henry. The feat is very unusual for any team, especially in a major international tournament. Defoe would go on to score 101 Premier League goals for Spurs across three different spells, but at that point he was still a relative newcomer, despite two seasons of top-flight experience with the Hammers. It is clear today, that move, and the opportunity that Pep gave me has gone down in history because it permitted me to be an even bigger part of football history by going to Inter. The Spanish club then sent Quaresma back to Portugal along with 13million to sign Deco. The deals are notoriously difficult to complete and rarely come to fruition because it requires two players both agreeing to go in the other direction.
He showed little respect for the coach and many times questioned his authority. Again, what were Inter Milan thinking? Sure the Cameroonian legend might have a point about the French team relying on the former Inter Milan and Juventus striker but suggesting that they're better off without him. Guardiola may be one of the best managers of all time, but he got this one badly wrong. However, there are exceptions, and here we remember some of the best and most memorable deals. Eto'o had been superb for Barcelona and only a few months prior to he had scored the opening goal in the Champions League final victory against Manchester United. Also Read | Four signings that made 14th July a monumental day in Manchester City transfer history. In the end, Guardiola gave up on Ibrahimovic and only gave him approximately 10 minutes per game until the end of the season. The reign of Guardiola at FC Barcelona was mired by his controversial transfers of Etoo and Ibrahimovic. Youd think Inter Milan would have learnt their lesson after the Seedorf and Coco disaster, but clearly not. Ibrahimovic scored 29 goals in all competitions winning the Serie A golden boot. Zlatan took up too much of it. In Ibrahimovic you had a player who likewise didnt believe in the ideas of the coach and was unwilling to adapt towards the system. To make sure you never miss out on your favourite NEW stories, we're happy to send you some reminders, Click 'OK' then 'Allow' to enable notifications, Published20:06,06 December 2016 GMT| Last updated12:34,06 June 2017 BST. The Cameroon legend along with Alexander Hleb were sent to Inter in return for Zlatan Ibrahimovic joining the Catalan giants who also paid46 million for his services. Pep Guardiola wanted another style of No. When asked to compare Jose Mourinho to Pep Guardiola he described the former as someone who has changed a lot when reunited at Chelsea so that he had become a bit difficult to work with (Mourinho had relegated him to the bench due to his age). Etoo was ordered with the rest of the squad to do stretching, something that Guardiola believes in strongly. Capello quickly requested Madrid directors headed to Milan to complete the deal, and it just so happened that Inter were interested in Los Blancos striker Ivan Zamorano, too.
Also Read | 19 years since Manchester United signed Rio Ferdinand for a record 29.3 million. After West Ham were relegated to the Championship in 2003 they were never going to keep hold of promising striker Jermain Defoe for long. Four signings that made 14th July a monumental day in Manchester City transfer history.
9, though, and it seemed like a perfect fit when Ibrahimovic was targeted. Unfortunately for him, his acquisition proved one of the most disastrous in Manchester United's recent history, as while he hoovered up exorbitant wages in the region of 500k per week, his performances were far from memorable. There are others of course, such as Yaya Toure and Dymytry Chygrynsky. A few weeks later Etoo was out for Ibrahimovic. Former Barcelona and Inter Milan striker, Samuel Eto'o has opened up about his transfer from Spain to Italy in 2009, claiming that, the Italian giants, "made the best deal in football history". None were willing to accommodate themselves for the young Argentinian unlike David Villa who made no fuss about being played on the wing.